Blood of a Mermaid
by Rulern Av Ost
Summary: Before starting Hogwarts, Harry meets a Mermaid. Legends say that if you drink the blood of a mermaid, freely given, you will gain immortality.


**Word 011: Mermaid**

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.  
**Chapter Summary: **Before Harry starts Hogwarts, Harry encounters a Mermaid.

oOo

When Harry came back to Private Drive with an owl and a trunk full of "god knows what", it had been the last straw for one Vernon Dursley, who had practically thrown Harry and his new things into his car.

After a few hours' drive in silence, for Harry dared not say anything to his enraged uncle, the car had stopped outside of a forest. Without saying a word, Vernon left the car, opened the right backseat door, and dragged Harry out by his arm, ignoring his protests.

"Take this and cover your eyes with it." Was the only words Vernon would say during the entire exchange, while handing Harry a black scarf.

Harry dared not do anything but do as his uncle told him to, and as Vernon dragged out his trunk and grabbed Hedwig's cage, Harry carefully wrapped the scarf around his head, making sure he could see if he looked down at the ground.

And so began two hour long trek through the woods. And despite Harry's best attempt to keep track of where they were going by his limited vision, he quickly lost all sense of direction. Harry heard Hedwig squawk, and a thump as his uncle dropped his trunk.

"Uncle Vernon?"

There was no reply.

Harry could hear his massive uncle getting further and further away from him, yet he couldn't bring himself to remove the blindfold until long after any sounds of his steps were gone.

At first, once he had discarded his scarf, he had tried to walk a bit after where he had heard his uncles' footsteps disappearing to, before realizing it was no hope. He was hungry, but worst of all was the thirst.

Hedwig hooted at him.

"Hedwig. Please fly around and see if you can find some water?" He winched at the hoarse sound of his voice.

Hedwig gave another hoot as he opened her cage, before flying off.

Harry carefully sat down his trunk against a tree before sitting down, with his back against the tree. His arms wrapped against his knees as he hugged them tightly to himself.

The night was cold.

It didn't take more than a few minutes before Hedwig returned, and she flew a few feet above Harry as she showed him the way to water, to some form of salvation.

As he entered the huge meadow with a large lake, nothing in the world could've stopped Harry from running, throwing himself down on the lake's shore, and drinking to his hearts content.

oOo

It had now been three days since his Uncle Vernon had dropped him in these woods before driving off, leaving him to fend for himself.

Harry had never needed to wander far from the lake, in search of food. Quite a few different kinds of berries grew by the meadow's edges and as he was accustomed to a light diet and to go long without food, this wasn't too straining on him.

Hedwig would sometimes come with offerings of dead mice, but he nicely declined and told her to keep herself well fed.

When Hedwig was off hunting, Harry would entertain himself by reading his schoolbooks. Hopefully, someone from Hogwarts would come and find him soon.

He would usually read out-loud to himself. It helped with the almost eerie quiet that seemed to envelop the meadow.

It was while he was reading when he heard it, something big splashing in the water. His head snapped up from the book in his hands, his mouth gaping in shock at what he saw.

It was a woman. Well, not exactly a woman. She had long hair that looked suspiciously like seaweed, her eyes wide and yellow, looking distinctively like the eyes of a fish. Her skin looked like gray scales, and where her legs would be was a finned tail, which looked almost slimy.

Before Harry could react, she swam towards him with a speed that he couldn't hope to match when running, and pulled him under the water.

Harry panicked, flailing for his dear life, his eyes squished shut. He couldn't die now. Not like this.

His eyes snapped open as the creature, the monster trying to drown him, bloody _kissed_ him!

"Relax human. I mean you no harm. Breathe child, for Magic will let you."

Harry stopped fighting and carefully inhaled, slowly at first. He really could breathe. He tried to respond to the being holding him, but found that he could still only gurgle under the water.

"I have been listening to you read for some time now. I know who you are, little one."

He gave her a quizzical look.

"You are Harry Potter. Wizards name you 'The-Boy-Who-Lived'. You survived Death, and for that, you have my respect."

Harry looked up, trying to convey to her that he wanted to get up on the surface. It was cold, and the creature still frightened him, her appearance hideous to him.

"I'll let you go soon. But first, I want to give you a gift. For such an interesting one as you," she gave him a wicked grin, hideous, her teeth yellow and sharp as knives, "doesn't come around often."

"Gift?" Harry mouthed.

She laughed, the sound cold and unforgiving, bringing shivers up Harry's spine.

"A gift in the beginning. But someday, you might call it a curse."

Before Harry had time to respond or react, she had bitten her finger, and shoved it into his mouth.

"Drink, little one. For the blood of a Mermaid, freely given, gives man the true Immortality."

Harry's eyes widened, he tried not to swallow any of the foul-tasting liquid forced into his mouth, but it seemed like the blood had a life of his own. It forced its way down his throat, like snakes, and he gagged and coughed but nothing helped. He couldn't breathe.

The last thing he saw before he slipped into unconsciousness was yellow fish-like eyes, and a cold voice telling him it expected great things from him.

oOo

When Harry woke up, it was to white walls and a bed with white sheets, and an old man with a long white beard and half-moon spectacles staring down at him with sorrow-filled blue eyes.

oOo

**A/N:** If anyone wishes to write this into a full-fledged story, they're welcome to! Just send me a note about it, so I can read it? :D


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